Organizational Development & Change
Introduction
Having gone through the course I have come to appreciate the field of what constitutes Organizational Culture and Organizational Development (OD). Organizational Development can be been described in my own words as a process of applying change in an Organization’s culture through application of a wide variety of external and internal factors. There are various definitions for Organizational Development but all have a focus on it being a way of attaining Organizational Change. This change is acquired by first changing the strategy, structure and process of the entire systems in the organization (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Secondly OD bases itself on the application and transfer of behavioral science knowledge and practice. Its application is wider than these two applications though.
Over the years and with more experience, Organizations have realized that they must adapt quickly in light of changing circumstances if they are to compete and remain relevant. This necessitates the application of OD by organizations and the three major factors bringing about the change in the market environment are globalization, information technology and managerial innovation (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Having learnt its history I have learnt how important OD has been to the survival of many global companies.
Process of Organizational Development
The initial stage of OD will involve identifying problems and the opportunities for the Organizations, this being the entering and contracting stage. After this preliminary step there are several other steps including diagnosis, analysis of the diagnostic information, feeding back this diagnostic information, designing interventions and finally leading and managing change (Cummings & Worley, 2009). All these are defined stages in the process of implementing organizational change and require systematic application.
Organizational change also encompasses system wide changes that may be achieved through either organization confrontation meeting, intergroup relations or large-group intervention. These three methods are very important to be conscious of while introducing change at an organization. For example, the intergroup conflict resolution approach is aimed at mitigating dysfunctional conflicts between different groups or departments in the organization (Cummings & Worley, 2009).
I have also come to appreciate that employees must be part and parcel of the organizational change methodology for it to have a chance to succeed. The way this is done is that decision making is moved downwards in the organization’s hierarchy to ensure that even the lowest ranking employees have a hand in effecting the change required. Once they have this direct input they shall adopt it easier than if it had been shoved down their throats figuratively speaking.
The Future of OD
The field of OD is in a state of continuous flux and it shall keep growing and changing. This is due to the continuous research and development being carried out in this field. OD will evolve together with the technological and economic developments that organizations in the world will go through. Exhibiting theories will have to be completely reworked and not merely expanded if OD is to develop and become an area with more relevance to all organizations (Cummings & Worley, 2009).
References
Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization development & change (9TH ed.). Australia: South-Western/Cengage Learning.
